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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL Where did all the common sense go? Have you noticed how many people don’t have any common sense? A serious epidemic has swept our country and wiped out a lot of common sense. I hate to say it but com mon sense, for a whole lot of people, is as gone as Co-colas that cost a dime. Common sense to Southerners was always a point of pride, esp e - daily for those in the rural South where schooling was scarce so the man with the most good ffi.... „ ;■ ./i.. J Ronda Rich Columnist ol’ common horse sense was the valedictorian of the com munity. My daddy had an uncle like that up in the North Georgia mountains, who Daddy wor shipped until Uncle Oscar Cannon’s life ended when he was well into his nineties. Uncle Oscar and his wife, Aunt Fairy, lived on a beauti ful, large piece of land where magnificent oaks towered high in the sky and a gentle creek twisted lazily through the front yard on its way to meet the Chattahoochee River somewhere down the way. He farmed that land for his family but he was an ingenious Scotch-Irish who found a way to make a buck in all kinds of ways. The dog days of summer at Houston Springs Houston Springs has gone to the dogs! We could not think of a more appropriate thing for a Georgia Active Adult Community to do - especial ly when 70 percent or better of our residents have canine companions. The first dog park just opened - a fenced-in, half acre grassy field with three tall trees. In this enclosure, “the dogs have it” - a place to run off their leashes, other dogs to play with, trees to water, and grass to roll around on! Benches have been ordered for pet-owner seating, and a doggy drinking system will be installed shortly. But even without all these frills, the park has been a huge success. Residents congregate, bringing folding chairs, and visit while the “kids” play and have a great time. Even dogs who don’t socialize well when on a leash manage to “play well with others” when they have freedom of movement. As one resident said, “I don’t walk that fast. This pet park is just wonderful because my dog can really run - she is not limited by the speed that I am able to move! And she loves being Robins Bridge Club welcomes newcomers Special to the Journal The Robins Duplicate Bridge Club welcomes new participants. They meet at 151 Maple St. in Warner Robins, across from the Senior Citizens Activity Center. Their schedule is as fol lows: Regular games are Mondays and Thursdays at 7:15 p.m., Wednesdays at 1 p.m. Novice games are Monday evenings at 6 p.m. Bridge lessons are given Sunday afternoons from 3-5 p.m. Subscribe today Call 987-1823 He was a craftsman who, late in life, made a right nice living by selling hand-made spinning wheels to the city folks from Atlanta who were quite amazed that his aging hands were so deft and tal ented. Uncle Oscar, though, didn’t just sell spinning wheels to those folks. He always threw in a few stories, which he would tell from his rocking chair on the front porch. He was quite a sage. His common sense was unparalleled. He was the valedictorian of it in his neck of the woods near Turner’s Corner. Somewhere in the 19205, he heard that the govern ment would pay to pick up the kids scattered through the Appalachian foothills and drive them to the simple one room schoolhouse. So, Uncle Oscar took a pick-up truck, built side boards and a roof to it and turned it into a homemade, but very serviceable, school bus. He made S6O a month, a nice chunk of money to a young mountain man. “Common sense is wisdom with its sleeves rolled up,” is a quote I read the other day. Trouble is there’s a new gen eration who’s had it so easy that they haven’t had to roll their sleeves up, literally or figuratively. Down the road, there is a price coming for such an easy upbringing. Common sense, I firmly believe, is gained when you able to play and race around with the other dogs.” Another resident com mented that the pets have allowed them to make friends very quickly after moving in. “I learn the pets’ names first - I know Callie’s dad, and Taz’s mom, and Ruffles’ parents!” ■ ■■ The pets have brought on another phenomenon - pet cruising. Many owners enjoy take their pets for a spin around the neigh borhood in golf carts. Barbara and Jim Antczak have a special dog seat in their Melanie Lewis Columnist Houston Springs golf cart for Ruffles, their Maltese! Ted and Betty Stevens frequently cruise around with Toby, their Bichon. Len and Joyce Griffith ride with Kelly, their Fox Terrier, who is in train ing for the show circuit! You will often see Mary and Richard Seagraves rid ing around in their golf cart For information about the regular schedule call Ruth Suggs, 923-4574. For infor SUGARLOAF A Lovely Sidewalk Community In Perry These Homes are quality built all brick homes. We have 3 & 4 bedroom homes starting at 131,900 Homes have features such as custom cabinets, fireplace, sod, sprinkler system. Builder is giving a $5,000 bonus if you contract on one of our last 2 completed homes and close within 30 days. We have a new loan program available to use that is a 100% loan with no PMI Information Center open daily Mon, Thur, Fri 12-6 weekdays, Sat 11-5 Sun 1-5. Stop by and visit with Karen or give her a call at 954-HOME (4663) Located on the Perry Parkway nght across from the new Court House Coming Soon Another CARTER-WILKES S/D REMINGTON CHASE CONSTRUCTION, INC. Inc. i? (471) 971-2115 331 Minle Drive, Werner Robins. GR. 31088 Disclaimer Bonuses based on certain completed homes only Loan program based upon credit and may not apply to al purchasers have to figure out how to do something. “Why don’t you hire some one to do that?” Claudette will ask when I take on a project where I haven’t a clue what I’m doing. “That’s the easy way out. This way I can broaden my knowledge and experience.” She’ll just shake her head and sigh. When my doorbell failed and no one could tell me why, I took it apart and set to work. It took two hours but I finally figured it out. The electrician, to whom I had paid a small fortune, had failed to install the diode when he connected the push button. There wasn’t an electrical current to tell the chimes to ring eight times. So I fixed it. Two hours earlier, I didn’t even know what a diode was. “You’re a genius!” pro nounced Brandon, who works for me. I shrugged. “Just the utili zation of common sense.” I’m not the smartest per son you’ll find but I’m bound and determined to fight for my common sense. I’d rath er have it than an armful of doctorate degrees. Sad to say, though, but for the most part, common sense isn’t all that common any more. Ronda Rich is the best selling author of What Southern Women Know (That Every Woman Should) and The Town That Came A-Courtin’. with two dogs. Mary drives, with one pet on the front seat with her, and Richard lounges on the rumble seat with their sec ond dog! They are real pet lovers and often dog-sit for others in the neighborhood, which is wonderful as so many of our residents love to travel. ■ ■■ The urge to go sailing in Middle Georgia can be hard to satisfy unless you are a member of the Houston Springs Yacht Club. One of the many uses for the stocked fish ponds and reflection lakes in Houston Springs has been discovered by our “remote control” sail boat and motor boat enthu siasts. Match racing 33’ sailboats, which stand 60’ tall, can be a blast for those looking for some old fashioned sailing excitement. The Houston Springs Yacht Club commodore Rick Antione enjoys the motor ized boats, which provide high speed boating excite ment as they zip across the still lake waters. The yacht club represents another recreational venue and lifestyle enhancement for the residents of Houston Springs. mation about lessons and the novice games, call Gerald Peavey, 911-0943. LIFESTYLE Books and more books I read a book every two weeks in my summer book club. I had the time to read that I never seem to have during the winter. Add the five book club books to the other 10 I read during the summer, and for some - especially my students - that seems like a lot. For others who polish off a book or two a week, 15 books seem like a few. One of my classes I am teaching this semester is composed of many who have never read a novel for pleasure. I decided to introduce them to James Patterson, one of my quick and easy, down and dirty authors. We are reading Ist to Die, which I remember reading a few summers ago during a rainy afternoon. They are loving it! One young man read his book during my entire wonder ful lecture last Friday. I was aggravated, yet oddly pleased! Each semester I offer my students Mark Twain’s wonderful quote as Enjoy those kitchen collectibles Everything from oak Hoosier cabinets from the 1920 s to chrome dinette sets from the 1950 s are among some of the hottest items flying out of the antique shops today according to the Antiques Roadshow Insider. Who can resist a kitchen adorned with an adorable display of old vintage red handled and green handled eggbeaters and utensils, 1950’s aprons or colorful Fiesta mixing bowls and pitchers? Everyone loves nostalgia and wonderful memories of grandma’s kitchen. There are so many color schemes, periods or themes to choose from. Green was popular in the forties, red in the fifties, * Jf w ■ jjL ■■hhSShEbhlhh fc* w<»**>##sUtiW B|>; • J' > ' ->*f - Chevy - Ponlkic Beiek (iMC Exit 134 PIT 1-75. Perrv. CIA* 478-987-2122 • 1 -SOO-9D2-2D4 1 I 0Q037813 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2006 ♦ a bit of a challenge: “The man who doesn’t read good bo6 k s has no advan tage over the man who can’t read.” The summer Bgh : ' ' book Jane Winston q | U The Left Rail began with Snowflower and the Secret Fan written by Lisa See. It reminded me a bit of “Memoirs of a Geisha” in that it speaks of women in China during the 1800 s. See deals with friendship, betrayal, regret and for giveness with compassion and empathy. The thinness of it. The weight of it. The opening lines drew me in. The wholq time I was reading it, I was thinking this book just isn’t big enough; it should be longer and it should weigh more. But when I finished it, I found that everything aqua in the sixties and if you can believe it, orange in the seventies. Even old Tupperware is becoming collectible. So how can you decorate with these hot col lectibles? You can place kitchen tools on the wall, display them in baskets on the , HjW ijP^' Jillinda Falen Antiques wall or crocks on the coun ters, perch gadgets, pitch ers or other crockery on top of cabinets or on wall shelves or curios. You can take bright colored aprons was there. It didn’t need any more words or pages. It was complete. Arranged friendship, foot binding, secret written languages, all so alien to me, make for a compelling read. Television I go long periods without ever turning on my TV but when I do, I watch (accord ing to my astute friends) the stupidest shows. I loved “So You Think You Can Dance?” this summer and hated to see it end. I was so ready for “Survivor” which began Thursday evening -1 already have my million dollar winner picked, but I’m not telling; the answer is in an hermetically sealed envelope. But, my favorite is “American Idol.” Guess I will have to wait until 2007 for that. Until next week: “A study in the Washington Post says that women have better verbal skills than men. I just want to say to the authors of the study” “Duh.” -Conan O’ Brian or tablecloths and make them into kitchen curtains or even string and hang utensils from the curtain rods or use them for tie backs! Old vintage advertising signs or souvenir plates look great on kitchen walls! You can find all kinds of See FALEN, page SA WE BUY GOLD! s Satterfield & 5 Demina Jewelers WO H Houston lake HO • Centerville. GA 5A